Joakim Noah Agrees to Sign With the Knicks After Meeting Officials for Dinner

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Joakim Noah (13) has played his entire career for the Bulls, but the center, who was a free agent, grew up in Manhattan.CreditKamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

By Scott Cacciola

July 1, 2016

ORLANDO, Fla. — On the first day of N.B.A. free agency, Joakim Noah wore a hat. But not just any hat. In a photograph that he posted on social media, Noah wore a Knicks hat.

It was a sign of things to come as the day progressed. Noah was making it clear that he planned to sign with the Knicks and return to New York, where he grew up.

Sure enough, by Friday night, he had agreed in principle to a four-year deal worth $72 million, according to a person briefed on the negotiations, after dining with Phil Jackson, the team president, and a convoy of team executives at an Orlando-area hotel.

“Good steak, good chicken, good fish, good dessert,” Coach Jeff Hornacek said as he departed the hotel shortly before midnight. “Good talk with him. He’s excited.”

Noah, 31, will be the Knicks’ starting center for the foreseeable future after having spent his entire career with the Chicago Bulls.

No deals can become official until Thursday, when the league lifts its annual moratorium on signings and trades, and team officials were reluctant to discuss the deal. ESPN first reported the terms.

Noah long ago established his reputation as one of the top defensive centers in the league. He has what is known in the business as a high motor. He plays hard and talks loud. He assembled his finest season in 2013-14, when he averaged 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists and was named the N.B.A.’s defensive player of the year.

But his production in recent seasons had been slowed by injuries. He had an operation on his left knee in May 2014. He missed most of last season after undergoing an operation on his shoulder in January. He appeared in just 29 games, averaging 4.3 points and 8.8 rebounds.

The Knicks are hopeful that he can maintain his health. But he instantly becomes another question mark for a team that is suddenly banking on aging and expensive stars, including Derrick Rose, whom the Knicks acquired in a trade last week, and Carmelo Anthony. All three players are immensely talented. But all three have undergone knee surgery in recent years.

At the same time, the acquisition of Noah meshes with Anthony’s long-stated desire to win now, while he is still clinging to some semblance of his prime. It also continues a marked shift away from Jackson’s fading plan to exercise patience by developing younger players. In recent weeks, Jackson has gone after former All-Stars with something to prove. It is a gamble.

Noah, though, is an energetic force. Before meeting with him on Friday, Hornacek said he was looking for leadership in free agency. Noah should fill that void.

“Derrick’s relatively quiet,” Hornacek said. “Carmelo’s a bit of a leader. But when you’re looking at center and guards, you want someone who can be a leader from the back side of the line and a guy from the front side.”

When he was coaching the Phoenix Suns, Hornacek said, he constantly pressed his players to be more vocal. They did not always listen.

“They didn’t talk very much,” he recalled. “We kept emphasizing: ‘You’ve got to talk. You’ve got to talk.’ And it’s so much easier when you hear about these guys that are great centers who just sit back there and direct their teammates — the Kevin Garnetts. He just sat back there and told everyone where to go. That’s a big quality you can have in a center.”

It will be a homecoming for Noah, who grew up in Manhattan and spent two years at Poly Prep Country Day School in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. Even as a high school student, Noah was charismatic. The son of the former tennis professional Yannick Noah, he had a penchant for wearing throwback jerseys. He liked to study history. He once brought a machete to class as a prop for speech class. A curious sort, he was just as likely to respond to a teacher’s question with one of his own.

On the basketball court, Noah rebounded and defended and played all out, all game. It was more of the same at Florida, where he helped the Gators win back-to-back national championships, and then with the Bulls, who selected him with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft. He is a two-time All-Star selection.

With the Knicks, Noah will be reunited with Rose, his former teammate on the Bulls. At his introductory news conference, Rose said that he planned to recruit Noah to join him in New York. Rose’s presence turned out to be a huge draw for Noah.

The Knicks entered free agency with just five players under contract and more than $30 million to spend under the salary cap. Noah’s deal will consume a sizable chunk of that space, and the team is still searching for a starting shooting guard. The Knicks are believed to be targeting Courtney Lee or Eric Gordon, another player plagued by injuries.

On Friday afternoon, before meeting with Noah, Hornacek reiterated that the Knicks were looking for a “defensive-type center” to pair with Kristaps Porzingis.

“I think we have some holes to fill,” Hornacek said, adding: “It’s an interesting period when a lot of teams have money, so we have to see how it’s going to shake out. Hopefully for us, the pieces fit and we can do all that.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Noah Dines With Knicks and Then Agrees to Sign. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe